when she first meets them.

she is a jack russel and she will go up to them, stand there sniffing, stiffens up and snaps at them, so now i put her on the lesh when there are other dogs around.

also she is ok, usually, when she has got used to dogs, usually. my friend has a staffy and they put up with each other but last time we took Ren to thier house, they snapped at each other 3 times. Its usually when its tight spaces, say in a crowded kitchen, and very quick.

they haven bitten each other but one day she might snap at another dog, and im worried the other dog might tear a piece out of her, whats the best way to deal with this please?

It's difficult to read without seeing exactly what's going on but you need to get this sorted because a big dog might take real umbrage to it and rag her.

well i know, i just said that

Cosmo is right, though, it could be anything at all. She could be dominant, she could need more exercise, she could lack dog social skills, she could be picking up on anxiety you feel....

If it was my dog that was doing this, I would start by muzzling her straight away so I could still take her out and about without worrying about her snapping. I'd also keep her on the lead so I could pick some nice calm dogs to introduce her to in a controlled way and hope she realises that that's the behaviour you want from her.

But that could be all for nowt if socialisation isn't the problem...It's a toughie...

i didnt think about that... but, wouldnt she still try though to start other dogs?

That's where you come in. You will have her by the lead, therefore you control how long she stays near the other dog for. While she's calm and sniffing, that's good, but you should know her danger signs by now. You take her out of the situation and move her away before she gets to the snapping stage.

well at the moment it is a case of picking her up and walking away

I wouldn't pick her up, to be honest. She could end up snapping at you or if she's riled the other dog up, it could react to your movement in swooping in to rescue your dog and attack you.

I would just use the lead to move her away and keep walking

i will just do that then.

do you know what my friend and i can do about the pair of them when they get together, usually they just ignore each other but like i say will have a little snap now and again?

Good way to get dogs to get along together is to take them walking together so they use up a bit of energy. Your own little doggie sounds like she's a bit insecure around other dogs so it might just be a case of more socialisation with other types of dogs. The best thing is not to reinforce the behaviour by getting excited yourself and shouting or giving out, this makes the dog think they are right in how they feel. Just walk them away silently and keep as calm as possible. Dogs pick up on our fears and nervousness at the other end of the lead.

It may be worth consulting a good dog behaviourist for advice. I know they aren't cheap, but they may be very helpful.

The big problem with dealing with aggression on a forum is that without seeing the dog in the flesh and the triggers it is hard to tell what the cause of the aggression is. If the aggression is due to misplaced dominance, the 'treatment' would be different to if it was caused by fear, which is again different to possession/resource guarding. It could even be that the other dogs are at fault - poor manners.

My Glen had aggression issues due to sexual dominance. The cure was relatively easy. But his 'cure' wouldn't have worked in any circumstance other than sexual dominance.

A muzzle and a good 'leave it' command and recall are good management until you get it sorted, but a behaviourist is probably your best bet.

I think Jack Russells and Staffies just don't get on lol we have a puppy Jack and an older Staffie and while the Jack wants to just play with the Staff it's just not interested as with other dogs...she just seems to sniff and that's it so far anyway lol

I would just keep on a lead when near other dogs for now so if u come into contact with other dogs you have control

AJxx

Totally agree

Another thing you might want to try, OP, is to have a look at some books on dog behaviour, particularly those appropriate to your breed. It could be this is a common breed issue in which case they'll be able to give advice on how to deal with it.

In terms of the snapping when the dog is at your friends house, again that could be due to many different factors. Rather than addressing the cause of the behaviour, at least in the short term, I'd keep them apart till I was sure I had control over my dog and could stop it from snapping

Daisy, I know it might sound obvious, but do you use voice commands with your dog? All our dogs have been trained to know the word "No!" very firmly spoken but not shouted, and with the dog's name in front as with all verbal commands. We were told when our first dog was trained that commands should be of one word only, easy for the dog to understand and always have the dog's name first, so:

"Susie, SIT!" "Susie, WAIT." "Susie, NO!"

We've always found this sort of gentle but firm training works and I can really notice the difference between our dogs and those of my friend, who never trains her dogs beyond toilet issues.

Good luck anyway.

Our Yorkshire terrier is similar; we think it because he feels the need to always defend himself, being a teacup Yorkie and all!

He barks at the neighbours, anyone at all really, and every other creature that moves!
He snaps at them too, and I'm afraid he may just bite someone one of these days...
He wouldn't do any damage even if he tried but its still just as serious. Unfortunatly they don't seem to make muzzles small enough for his tiny face!
Oh- and its everything except my rabbit, who he's terrified of!

he knows who's boss then! Maybe he's seen the size of your rabbit's teeth - I hear rabbits are the lager louts of the animal kingdom - they live for sex and fighting!

I think it's just a Jack Russell thing! My dogs (Golden Retrievers) have been attacked by more JRs than I care to think about and the only times I have ever been bitten it's been by JRs, terriers tend to be like that so need lots of training and socialising. I think people make the mistake of thinking because they are small they are easy dogs to handle and they're not! I don't have anything against them, they can be really nice dogs, but they do need good handling.

I have a JRT and Staffy, both male, who generally get on very well, but the younger and smaller dog is the Alpha.

They get on very well, but I do sympathise about the JRT behaviour. While Staffies will get the stereotypical bad press, I'm more inclined to warn admirers to watch out for the Jack Russell.

Unless he know a person very well, the usual thing for him is to sniff and nip.

As for big dogs - bigger than my Staffy - he's always looking, at least vocally, to punch above his weight. Seems to be way with small dogs.

yes, she knows Sit, Get Down, Wanna go Outside, Wanna go to Bed and Hoover.

We dont say Ren before her name, but she does know her name, but thats a good idea, she will know for sure i am speaking to her...

yes, i think it must be a jack thing! she is full of energy and very loving, in fact the softest creature ive ever met - once she has accepted you! not to mention the fact she makes me laugh everyeday, she is the best!

Yes, thats Ren too!